Six months of mattress recycling in Liverpool and Wollondilly Shire councils

The New South Wales councils of Liverpool and Wollondilly Shire are celebrating the six- month anniversary of their partnership to recycle mattresses and put excess landfill waste to bed.

Liverpool has successfully recycled 765 mattresses for the Wollondilly Shire Council during that time, preventing more than 13.8 tonnes of waste from ending up in landfill.

Since Liverpool began shredding and recycling mattresses for Wollondilly Shire in July 2024, their collaboration has achieved:

765 mattresses recycled
approximately 765 cubic meters of landfill space saved
about 13.8 tonnes of waste kept out of landfill
approximately 9.2 tonnes of steel extracted for recycling (a typical mattress contains about 12.5 kilograms)

In addition to recycling steel, in October 2024 Liverpool Council began reusing the soft parts of the mattress, called the “floc,” to produce eco-friendly fuel.

This is done in collaboration with ResourceCo, a global leader in recovery and re-manufacturing.

The ResourceCo partnership enables Liverpool to reuse up to 96 per cent of every mattress and keep it out of landfill.

Liverpool Council also intends to partner with Kandui Technologies and UNSW to bring the diversion rate to up to 99 per cent. Kandui Technologies will reuse the leftover mattress floc to create ecologically friendly ceramic tiles.

Ned Mannoun, Liverpool Mayor, said the partnership with Wollondilly Shire Council demonstrates that councils can work together to save the environment.

“We are proud to offer a regional solution that benefits our partner councils and brings us closer to achieving zero waste goals,” said Mannoun.

“When I close my eyes, I can visualise a future in which Liverpool is recycling mattresses for every single council in greater Sydney.”

The mattress shredders – called “Crocs” – are housed at Liverpool’s facility on Rose Street.

The two truck-sized machines have already helped the two councils move closer to the New South Wales Government’s target of recovering 80 per cent of waste streams by 2030.

For more information, www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/